Joe, born on September1, 1928 on a farm near Purcell, OK, was the fifth of twelve children of Andrew and Laura Isabel (Snow) Simeroth. In 1940, he moved with his family to a larger farm near Porum, OK, where he graduated from High School having made the varsity baseball and basketball teams. In 1947 he enlisted in the Army Air Corp and was soon stationed at Carswell AFB in Fort Worth. In 1949, mutual friends introduced him to the love of his life, Mariana Flusche, whom he married on June 10, 1950. Joe was transferred often while he was in active service. In 1957 Mariana and their four children joined him in Rabat, Morocco where he fondly remembered shooting trap and skeet with the host country’s future king. In 1959, Joe was transferred to Altus, OK where he spent four years and was promoted to Master Sargent. But the promotion required him to spend a year in Vietnam away from his wife and six children in 1963. Happily, after that long tour, he was able to return to Carswell and was awarded outstanding NCO of the entire base in 1965. Joe retired from the Air Force in 1967 after twenty years of service.

After a brief stint with General Dynamics, Joe attended Tarrant County Junior College and graduated in May 1973 “Summa Cum Laude” with an Associate’s Degree in Electronic Technology. This experience led him to Howell Instruments where he worked as a quality control inspector for over twenty years. He retired in 1993 and spent the remainder of his years happily enjoying his kids and grandkids, playing golf, dabbling in art, building furniture, serving his church and community, and writing his stories with a “view below 10,000 feet.”

In today’s self-centered world, not many men are known to be saintly, but Joe truly was. Never the braggart, never saying a mean word, never being bored, never without a smile. Always the first to volunteer, always the last to quit, always the hardest worker, always the one to lean on. Joe had a magnetic attraction to everyone he met, especially to children. He knew the joy of the simplest things in life and his stories and art provide a glimpse into the depths of his soul. No one could hope to have a better husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin, friend or neighbor than Joe. He had great faith in Jesus and kept the commandment to love one another.

Joe was preceded in death by his wife of 67 years, by his parents, his brothers, John, Raymond, and Leonard, and his sisters, Helen and Evelyn.

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